The present invention pertains to a system of orthopedic rest aids, more particularly, to a system of orthopedic garments used to anchor protective or supportive pads in proximity to symptomatic joints during rest.
The development of arthritis, chronic tendonitis, bursitis, and other chronic degenerative joint diseases, to varying degrees, is an inevitable part of the aging process. Additionally, disorders of joint alignment can increase pain syndromes, which can often occur at a distance from the misaligned joint. Such joint disorders can arise not only from aging, but also from injuries, post-trauma malconvalesence, congenital deformations, and biochemical and hormonal changes, fluctuations, instability such as that due to pregnancy and to otherwise anomalous conditions. In addition to the well-known pain these conditions impose on individuals engaged in routine and daily activities, the conditions are an often-underappreciated cause of sleep deprivation. Discomfort in the joint regions can cause sleep disturbances and frequent awakening due to localized pain.
For example, a variety of degenerative joint conditions can cause pain that results in sleep deprivation. These conditions are worsened by the degeneration and loss of intracorporeal tissue, sinovia, and related structures, which occurs with aging, and which leaves the bony structures of various joints, less protected and therefore more susceptible to injury from the effects from otherwise ordinary stresses and movement. Pain is frequently addressed with medication that causes undesirable side effects, which can include serious gastrointestinal bleeding and other disturbances that affect appetite and food intake. The resulting cycle of pain, medication, and side effects ultimately causes poor health, decreased quality of life, and increased medical spending. Lack of sleep can further instigate and exacerbate other health problems, such as hypertension and stress syndromes.
In order to avoid the complications and side effects attendant to systemic drug treatments, pain syndromes are sometimes treated with mechanical appliances, such as various pad type devices. Padding can reduce the symptoms of many joint conditions, without the side effects attendant to systemic drug treatments. However, common problems exist with commonly available padding including the difficulties inherent in the need to accommodate physiological idiosyncrasies of every symptomatic individual. Such customized padding requirements are further complicated with the need to predictably and reproducibly shape and place appropriate padding that addresses the particular symptoms, the need to adjust and reproduce the position of the padding as symptoms are relieved and as they change, and the need to anchor the padding to resist displacement during normal body motion during sleep. In other words, the pad-type appliances most commonly known in the prior art restrict the ability of the individual and their health care provider to properly obtain or prescribe padding that adequately meets the needs of the physique and symptoms of the individual without excessive costs and considerable inconvenience. Moreover, current pads and methods for use and related devices are often provided without complementary education being provided to the symptomatic individual as to how to adjust and optimize the padding for optimal results, or to accommodate changes in symptoms.
Such limitations in the prior art devices and methods can be better appreciated with reference to selected examples. Attempts to protect and avoid injury to joints have been made in the form of protective garments that are designed to surround and cushion joints, including, for example, the hip joint. One such attempt is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,809 to Garcia, which describes padding that is limited to a trochanteric pad sewn into an outside pocket on the lateral aspect of a close fitting garment. Garcia""s proposed arrangement is restricted in application because it is not possible to move the pad or to change the thickness or shape of the pad without effecting a complete change in garments. Similarly limited fixed pad configurations also appear in U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,836 to Fee et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,377 to Wiener; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,168,576 and 5,423,087 to Krent et al.
Attempts at adjustability of joint pads have been illustrated in certain prior art illustrations, which fall short of achieving the more desirable capabilities. For example, Wiener ""377 teaches discrete sections of opposing hook and pile fasteners on a garment and a pad. However, the Wiener arrangement restricts the possible variety of pad configurations and does not allow but a limited number of adjustment positions. The variable anchoring system taught by Murray in U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,542 has many shortcomings including that it depends on constriction about a joint to provide anchoring, and that it does not offer easily predictable or reproducible adjustments. The method taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,641,641 to Strock is anchored by adhesives to the skin, which makes it unsuitable where multiple adjustments are required, or for long-term use, especially in applications involving pressure sores, and in that it also lacks a reproducible system for adjustment.
Properly positioned padding can support the joints in a manner to alter biomechanical anatomical relationships and can frequently decrease pain at intracorporeal locations distal to the padding. For example, low back pain is an exceedingly common musculoskeletal affliction. Low back pain is frequently caused by compression of the posterior elements of the spine, or by posterior shift of vertebral disk material. Mechanical lower back pain often responds to postural correction and muscle balancing, which decreases excessive loading forces through the posterior elements of the lumbar spine. Often, the amount of mechanical correction needed to reverse these stresses is very small. Reversal of lordosis by only a few millimeters can produce very satisfying results and is the goal of abdominal strengthening, which is commonly used to treat this problem. This is often achieved through physical therapy and exercise, but due to a dismal long-term adherence to exercise programs by most patients, such individuals soon experience a return of symptoms.
Common methods of assisting with positional correction of mechanical low back pain include various appliances, most often pillows, under the knees and back to address the discomfort. Using such appliances at night may result in initial comfort, but a common problem is that as soon as the individual rolls over or assumes a non-supine position, the appliance shifts and even a return to the original position does not restore the benefit.
The present invention addresses these and many other shortcomings in the current art. The contemplated orthopedic rest aids according to the instant invention enable easily customizable, secure, and reproducible anatomical compatibility and orientation in a collections of features and benefits that results in an apparatus that can be fine-tuned for each symptomatic individual by both the health care professional and the patient without undue difficulty or expense. The preferred orthopedic rest aids are lightweight, reconfigurable, securely attached to, and yet easily adjusted on the garment. Any of a wide number of shape adjustable pads and donning arrangements is possible with the embodiments according to the instant invention.
The orthopedic rest aids according to the present invention are useful in both padding vulnerable joints and in supporting joints and constituent structures and elements to address symptomatic and undesirable biomechanical relationships. Finally, as can be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art, the various new and novel configurations, variations, and modifications of the preferred embodiments can be configured to meet a wide variety of specific anatomical idiosyncrasies and as well as any number of symptom complexes and preferred treatment regimens.
What has been needed but heretofor unavailable, is an orthopedic rest aid that is not only compatible for use with the largest number of possible patient anatomies and treatment indications, but which is also available in a form that maximizes patient convenience and comfort without undue expense, and which minimizes the intervention and maintenance required by health care professionals who are in high demand. Moreover, the preferred apparatus should be easily adapted to perform well with any of the aforementioned types of anomalous conditions including those described above and contemplated herein.
The present invention meets these and other needs by enabling the patient to overcome pain and discomfort for purposes of improving quality of sleep without the need for expensive and inconvenient or ineffective padding systems and appliances. The devices according to the present invention accomplish this with a minimum of complexity and with a maximum of flexibility. The various embodiments of the present invention disclosed herein are readily adapted for ease of customization, reconfigurability, replacement, and user optimization, in addition to simplicity of manufacture, low producibility costs in view of the prior art, and immediate compatibility with most common types of maligned joint induced pain and symptom complexes.
In its most general sense, the present invention contributes a novel and useful advance to the field of art of orthopedic rest aids, and more particularly such devices having the form of comfortable sleep compatible appliances and integrated sleep wear, by offering a new and innovative capability that until now has been unavailable. In one configuration, the device according to the instant invention is directed to a reconfigurable orthopedic sleep aid that is adapted to be worn by a patient about the hips and at least one thigh. The sleep aid preferably includes a garment that is adapted to substantially surround the hip and at least one thigh and that has at least one attachment. The garment also bears an imprinted coordinate indicia pattern and one or more imprinted orientation indicia. The indicia generally correspond to an anatomical location of the patient, which includes for example, a greater trocanter of the hip, a posterior superior iliac crest, a coccyx, and an anterior ventral position medially aligned with the navel, and combinations thereof.
The sleep aid also preferably includes at least one substantially compressible pad that has a generally annular profile and a generally toroidal cross sectional profile. The pad is attached to or carried from the attachment on the garment near to the greater trochanteric area of the hip of the patient. When the patient assumes a lateral recumbent position, this arrangement serves to distribute the weight of the patient away from the greater trocanter and to surrounding tissues. The pad also preferably bears reference indicia that are adapted to cooperate with the coordinate indicia pattern on the garment whereby the patient can easily and reproducibly establish at least one preferred placement position for the pad on the garment.
The sleep aid also preferably includes an interior surface of the garment that is conformally formed as the at least one attachment. For example, the entire interior surface can be an attachment surface that is adapted to repositionably carry the pad. Also, the attachment is substantially formed from a dermally comfortable pile material compatible for use as a loop portion of a hook and loop type fastener assembly. To attach to the pile material, the pad further preferably incorporates a hook portion of the fastener assembly. Also, for non-ambulatory patients, or for incontinent patients that must don additional excretion absorbing materials, the garment is further modified to have edges defining an opening that is positioned about the perineal region of the patient.
In the presently described embodiment, the reconfigurable orthopedic sleep aid also preferably incorporates two substantially compressible pads that have a generally annular profile and a generally toroidal cross sectional profile. The pads are preferably attached to and or carried from the attachment of the garment near the respective greater trochanteric areas of the hips. For even more improved comfort, the pads can be further formed with generally tapered edges about inner and outer peripheries, which can be adapted to better distribute weight away from the region of concern and to surrounding tissues. In further variations of the instant embodiment, the preferred pads may be formed to have a generally cycloidal profile that defines an interior recess having a generally elliptical profile.
In a modification to any of the preceding arrangements, the reconfigurable orthopedic sleep aid of the instant invention can be adapted to be worn by a patient about the hips and legs. This modification preferably includes a generally loose fitting trouser garment that is adapted to be worn by the patient during sleep. The garment includes an attachment portion that is conformally formed on an interior or exterior surface of the garment. A coordinate indicia pattern and one or more orientation indicia maybe imprinted on the garment and would preferably correspond generally to an anatomical location of the patient for positioning of the garment as described above. The sleep aid also preferably includes at least one substantially compressible pad. The preferred pad has a generally annular profile and a generally toroidal cross sectional profile, and is attached to and or carried from the attachment portion on the garment. In one exemplary arrangement, the pad is positioned near the greater trochanteric area of the hip of the patient. When the patient assumes a lateral recumbent position, the pad functions to distribute the weight of the patient away from the greater trocanter and to surrounding tissues. The preferred pad also preferably bears reference indicia that are adapted to cooperate with the coordinate indicia pattern imprinted on the garment to establish at least one easily reproducible and easy to locate placement position on the garment.
The sleep aid according to the instant invention may also be directed to include a garment as described that also is adapted to include at least one generally wedge shaped and substantially compressible pad configured to be carried from the attachment. In variation of preceding embodiments, the wedge shaped pad is attached to the garment proximate the gluteal fold of the patient to, when the patient assumes a supine recumbent position, effect posterior tilt of the pelvis to decrease the lordotic position of the back. As with preceding embodiments and variations, the at least one wedge also preferably includes reference indicia that are adapted to cooperate with the coordinate indicia pattern imprinted on the garment, which enable ease and reproducibility of placement on the garment. The present variation also further contemplates modifications wherein two generally wedge shaped and substantially compressible pads are adapted to be attached to and carried from the garment near the respective gluteal folds. This arrangement is also directed to use in the configuration that includes the reconfigurable orthopedic sleep aid being adapted to be worn by a patient about the hips and legs. In this further alternative arrangement, the garment is configured as a generally loose fitting trouser that adapted to be worn by the patient during recuperation or sleep.
In yet other modifications to any of the preceding embodiments, the reconfigurable orthopedic sleep aid of the instant invention is also adapted to be worn by a patient about a knee joint. In this configuration, a garment is adapted to substantially conform to and surround the knee joint and to have at least one attachment. This garment also preferably is imprinted with a coordinate indicia pattern and one or more orientation indicia that generally correspond to an anatomical location of the patient. In this variation, the indicia are adapted and positioned to correspond with, for example, a medial and a lateral border of the patella, a lateral and a medial compartment of a respective inferior and superior knee joint, and a hamstring tendon of the knee joint, and combinations thereof. As with preceding embodiments, this alternative configuration incorporates at least one substantially compressible pad that is formed with a generally annular profile and a generally toroidal cross sectional profile. The pad is preferably configured for attachment to the attachment on the garment so that it is worn about medio-lateral aspect of the knee joint. As worn and when the patient assumes a lateral recumbent position, the pad distributes the weight of the patient away from the medio-lateral aspect, to surrounding tissues. Preferably, the pad also bears reference indicia that are adapted to cooperate with the coordinate indicia pattern to establish at least one placement position on the garment that is easy for the patient to identify, and that is easy to reproduce, once the preferred location is established by the patient and or the care giver. This variation may also further incorporate any of the preceding additional modifications and arrangements.
The reconfigurable orthopedic sleep aid according to the instant invention also further incorporates a generally loose fitting trouser garment that is adapted to be worn by the patient during sleep, and which is adapted to alleviate discomfort of one or more knee joint related anomalies. This configuration includes an attachment portion that is conformally formed on a surface of the garment and includes one or more orientation indicia and a coordinate indicia pattern that generally corresponds to a predetermined anatomical location of the patient. The anatomical location can include, for example, a medial and a lateral border of the patella, a lateral and a medial compartment of a respective inferior and superior knee joint, and a hamstring tendon of the knee joint, and combinations thereof. The instant embodiment also includes at least one substantially compressible pad having a generally annular profile and a generally toroidal cross sectional profile with tapered inner and outer edges. The pad is also preferably configured to be attached to and carried from the attachment portion of the garment near the predetermined anatomical location to distribute the weight of the patient away from the predetermined location and to surrounding tissues, when the patient assumes a lateral recumbent position. The preferred pad is also preferably imprinted with reference indicia adapted to cooperate with the coordinate indicia pattern on the garment for easy and reproducible placement on the garment.
The preceding variations, modifications, and alterations of the various preferred embodiments may be used either alone or in combination with one another as will become more readily apparent to those with skill in the art with reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying figures and drawings.